


5 Firsts For Charlie and 1 For Louise

by cellostiel



Category: Monsterkind (Webcomic)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Light Smut, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:28:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cellostiel/pseuds/cellostiel
Summary: "It's cool. I get it. Just… give me the benefit of the doubt next time? I'm not gonna turn around and do anything to you, dude."You nod. "Yeah. I can… yeah."Louise smiles crookedly. "Cool. Just be you and I'll be me, yeah?""Yeah."-A look at Charlie and Louise's relationship through the ages.





	5 Firsts For Charlie and 1 For Louise

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the awesome Ginfruit over on the Monsterkind discord!!! She's super rad and you have her to thank for this thing being written! 
> 
> warnings for canon-typical violence!

1 - First Friend

 

You're fifteen when you meet them. They're graduating this year, but you forget that once you start to know them. 

You're sitting by yourself at lunch - new school, new district, no friends - when the seat next to you pulls out and a lanky human plops down next to you. 

"Hey." they say, and you look at them suspiciously. "Sup."

You narrow your eyes. "What do you want."

They shrug. "Dunno. You looked lonely."

You bristle. The last thing you want is  _ pity- _

"And, I dunno, I was bored. Maybe a little lonely myself." 

With a pause, you reconsider them. They shrug again and tuck into their food, and you stare at them, watching them. Slowly, you relax, and you turn back to your own food. 

It becomes a thing, them sitting with you. After the third day, they introduce themself as Louise,  and you give them your name. 

"So, Charlie," they say, and you brace yourself. They've hardly spoken to you up until now. Are they going to ask about your scales? The school you got kicked out of? But instead of any of that, they ask, "What are you doing after school? We could hit up the mall."

You deflate. You've never really had someone ask you to hang out before. People usually get tired of you when you don't respond the way they want you to. Louise will probably end up feeling the same way if you hang out.

But then they smile, and say, "Dinner is on me." and you're too distracted studying the curve of their mouth to do much other than nod. 

  
  


You end up at the mall after school, feeling awkward as anything as you wait for Louise to get tickets to the slasher flick the both of you decided to watch. Doubts are starting to creep in. What if this is a prank? What if they get up to "go to the bathroom" during the movie and never come back? What if they use the cover of darkness to do something bad to you? What if-

"You ready?" Louise asks, lightly touching your arm with a small smile on their face, and you lose track of your thoughts. You nod, and their smile grows. "I've heard this is a good one. Guaranteed to give you nightmares."

"Right," you snort. "That's what they always say."

"Right?" Louise laughs. "It's 'the best horror movie of the summer'  _ every _ summer." 

"Pfft." You can't help the tiny laugh that escapes you as Louise leads you towards the theatre. They pick out a pair of seats in the back, and your nerves start sneaking back in. All through the previews, all you can think about is how this can go wrong. Louise makes idle comments about the previews that you don't quite catch, too focused on how empty the theatre is. Things could easily go wrong.

You're considering just bailing - ten bucks for the ticket be damned - when a hand lands on your arm.

"Hey," Louise says softly, "you okay?"

You're struck by their eyes, dark and enchanting, and you kick yourself for getting distracted. But… why would they bother to ask if they didn't care? Just to string you along longer? That… doesn't really make sense. 

"Y-yeah." you say. "I'm fine." 

"Okay," they look like they don't quite believe you, but they let it go. "Popcorn?" 

The two of you share a bucket of popcorn and a few laughs over what turns out to be a pretty shitty and campy horror movie, and you're actually starting to feel… good? Is this how people feel when they hang out with friends?

Your hands brush when you both reach for the popcorn at the same time, and Louise mutters a soft "oops" before letting you have first grab of the snack. You munch on a handful, mind suddenly overtaken by very different thoughts. Is this… a date?? Maybe? Going to the movies is a date activity, right? Do you… do you  _ want  _ this to be a date? You barely know Louise, but… you glance at them, and your heart beats a little faster, you think. 

  
  


"That was so bad," Louise laughs, coming out of the theatre. You nod along, still a little caught up in your head. "Oh man, I can't believe they already have a sequel lined up."

"Mm." 

"Come on, let's hit up the arcade."

"The what?"

"There's an arcade here. I'll spot you some quarters." 

You nod and follow them into the arcade attached to the movie theatre, waiting as they fit a few bills into the coin machine. They take your hand and press coins into your palm, and you can feel your face heating up. You're not used to people touching you, to people wanting to be around you. 

Louise drags you to a racing game and pops in a few quarters, choosing their car with ease. You climb into the tiny fake vehicle and fumble with the controls. 

You're good at videogames, you swear. Just not shitty, complicated racing games, apparently. Louise not only kicks your ass, but laughs about it. 

"Come on," they eventually say, getting up to help you out, "let's try something else."

Together, you sample several of the games at the arcade - from zombie shooters to Space Invaders to pinball, you try out most of what the arcade has to offer. You end up spending your last quarters on air hockey, where finally you get in a fair fight. Partly, though, because Louise  _ talks _ while they knock the puck back and forth. 

"So Mrs. Charles was like, 'do your homework.' I told her I  _ did _ the homework, I just left it at home, but she didn't believe me. Then Mr. Long, the hardass-"

You feel like you should have school anecdotes of your own to add to the conversation, but you've only been in school for a week, and anyways, Louise seems content just ranting to you about their teachers. 

You win, seven to five, and let out a loud "HA!" before you can stop yourself. Louise looks surprised, then laughs. 

"Good game, dude," they say. You nod, stuffing your hands in your pockets. 

Out of quarters, Louise leads you out of the arcade and the two of you spend the next half hour just wandering the mall, Louise pointing out stores they like and dislike. It's pretty quiet, for being a mall, but there's still more people than there were at the arcade, and they start getting on your nerves. Louise especially, because they keep talking about nothing and not asking what must be on their mind, what they must be dying to ask after the better part of a week knowing you.

Finally you stop in your tracks and blurt, "Just ask me already!" Louise stops and stares at you.

"Ask… what?"

"Why I moved here! What I did at my last school that was so terrible that they moved me to a different  _ district. _ " 

Louise blinks. "I didn't think it was any of my business." 

"What?"

"Yeah, I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would. If not, I'm not gonna press you."

Oh. Your shoulders slump. Man, you feel like an ass. 

"Sorry." you mumble. They shrug. 

"It's cool. I get it. Just… give me the benefit of the doubt next time? I'm not gonna turn around and do anything to you, dude."

You nod. "Yeah. I can… yeah."

Louise smiles crookedly. "Cool. Just be you and I'll be me, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Louise nods and starts walking again, and you hurry to catch up to them. 

  
  
  


2 - Kiss  

 

You and Louise start hanging out more. They invite you over to their house, and eventually, you invite them over to yours. Your parents tease you about bringing a girlfriend over, and you hiss at them that it's  _ not like that. _ Even if you do think about making them smile a lot, and wonder what it would be like to hold their hand, you don't like them like that, you swear. Your parents just roll their eyes and laugh it off. "Boys your age," they say.

"So we're hanging out," Louise says, lounging on your bed, "and he's like, 'wanna make out?' and I was like 'whatever, sure,' and we started kissing."

"Oh." is all you can think to say, lying next to them. The thought of Louise kissing someone is kind of… you're not sure how to feel. Jealous? Of who? You're not sure.

"And I mean, he was okay and all, but then he started calling me 'baby'," Louise's nose crinkles as they say the word, "and 'darling' and all this cutesy crap that just set me on edge. What really cinched it, though, was when he tried to jam his tongue in my mouth. I mean, I like a bit of tongue sometimes, but he just like,  _ shoved it in there. _ That ever happen to you?"

You blink. "Um. No."

"Really? Lucky."

You hesitate, nerves crackling under your skin, and say, "I've never kissed anyone."

"What?" Louise sits up a bit to look at you properly, one hand coming up to brush their bangs out of their eyes. "Never?"

You shake your head. 

"Huh. For some reason I was thinking you had." They pause, looking around your room, as if taking everything in for a second time. Then, they ask, "Would you want to?"

Thinking about it, you shrug. "I mean, yeah, someday. When I find someone."

"No, I mean," Louise leans a little closer, says, "I could show you."

"W-what?!"

"No pressure," they add immediately, backing off. "Y'know, just, if you want to. Sometimes it's nice to just get it out of the way. Less pressure for it to be perfect later."

You can't help staring at them. Are they crazy? Friends can't just… kiss! Can they? You don't… think so? But… maybe you're wrong. Louise seems to know what they're talking about. Maybe… it would be okay? You kind of want to, anyway… but is it just the kiss you want, or-

No, of course not. You don't want Louise that way. You just want to know what it's like to be kissed. That's fine. Everything is fine. 

You nod. Louise raises a brow, asks, "Was that a yes or no?"

"Yes." you say. "I, um, I want you to show me."

Louise smiles. "Okay. Hold still, alright?" You nod again, holding stock still as they get up, moving so that they hover half over you, palms on the mattress on either side of your head. "You ready?"

"Y-yeah."

"Stop me if you need to."

"Okay."

Louise darts down and pecks your cheek. Your face immediately bursts into flames. "Good." they say. They lean down again, brushing your noses together, then ghost their lips against yours. It's like time stops. All there is, is you, Louise, and the electricity where your lips connect. 

Then they press their lips more solidly against yours, and oh, you thought before was intense. There's sparks at first, but more than that, there's a warmth that spreads through you, lighting up every part of you and making them tingle. You want it to go on forever, you want Louise to climb fully on top of you, pinning you down, and you want them to try out that bit of tongue that they said they like.

A knock on the door jolts the both of you, and Louise rolls off you smoothly just as your mom opens the door and steps inside.  _ Fuck. _ You quickly turn your head the other way, glad that Louise is currently sitting between you and your mom.

"You kids doing okay?" your mom asks.

"Yeah, we're fine! We were just watching a movie and chatting, but I think he fell asleep." Louise laughs at the end, and shit, their laugh is nice.  _ Not helping right now, _ you think. "I was gonna wake him up in a bit."

"Okay! Dinner's almost ready, whenever you kids are ready."

"Thank you! We'll be right down."

Your mom leaves, closing the door, and you let out the breath you'd been holding. God, that was close. You don't know what you would've done if your mom had caught you making out with Louise. Not that there's anything  _ wrong _ with that, you just don't need to give your parents more ammo to tease you with. Or, god forbid, to tell Louise's parents about what happened. 

Louise gets up and stretches, and you can't help but peek at the strip of skin that exposes itself where shirt meets jeans. You quickly avert your eyes. 

"You good?" they ask. 

"Oh. Um. Yeah. Sorry."

"For what?"

You shrug, still staring at the wall. Louise hums. 

"Well, whatever it is, it's alright. It was just a kiss, dude, don't overthink it."

"Um, yeah, sure."

"C'mon, let's go get dinner."

"You, uh, go ahead. I need a second."

"Sure thing." they say easily, then leave your room, closing the door behind them. You spend a few minutes just breathing and trying to relax, then give up and resign yourself to an awkward dinner. 

  
  


  1. Night Together



 

After Louise leaves for college, things kind of… fall apart. Things happen. Things you'd rather not think about. When Louise finds you, you're not sure you're the same person they knew in High School. But Louise, being the amazing person that they are, doesn't treat you any different. They're mindful of you, sure, but they don't back down when you spit and curse at them. They keep pushing until your fire sputters out and you calm back down. Each outburst leaves you feeling more guilty than the last. 

They finally convince you to leave that shitty apartment you were in and come live with them. You're reluctant - you're already such a burden on them - but they insist, and really, when could you ever say no to them?

They make up a bed for themselves on their couch, promising you the bed and that they'll go shopping for a futon tomorrow, and they talk about maybe apartment shopping, but you start to shut down, and they notice.

"C'mon," they say, smile gentle. "Let's get you settled for the night."

You let them lead you their room, and you stand there awkwardly as they tell you to "make yourself at home" and leave you to your devices. After the door is closed, the room slowly darkening in the evening light, you sort of just… stand there. Unsure what to do. Lying down feels wrong, like taking advantage of your friend when they're right outside bumming it on the couch. 

Eventually, you sit on the bed, looking around the room. It's fairly bare, but there are a few mementos scattered here and there. A picture of their parents is on one wall, and on their bedside is a picture of the two of you together. 

_ "I never stopped looking for you." _

You feel sick. Bending over, you wrap your arms around your stomach. Louise is acting like everything will be okay, but it  _ won't. _ He's going to come back for you, somehow, some way, and it's all going to start again only this time he'll have Louise too and-

You need to leave. You stand. But Louise is in the living room. They'll hear you. But maybe they're asleep. Maybe if you're quiet enough…

Standing, you tiptoe to the door. You press your ear to the wood, listening. There's nothing to be heard. Swallowing your nerves, you crack open the door and peer out. It looks out into the living room, where Louise is under the covers on the couch. Easing the door open, you pad out into the living room, getting about halfway through before a floorboard creaks.

"Charlie?" Louise mumbles, rolling over. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," you lie. "Just getting some water."

They narrow their eyes. "The kitchen's the other way."

Shit.

With a sigh, they sit up, patting the space beside them. At length, you sit next to them. They're silent for a long while, making you antsy. 

"Look," they say softly, "I know things have been hard for you. And I know that's a hell of an understatement. But I need you to trust me. No matter what it is, you can trust me, Charlie."

You chew on your lip, hard enough to draw blood. The copper taste grounds you. "I just… I don't want to drag you into this. I'm dangerous now."

"I think I can handle you, Charlie."

"No, I mean… being around me is dangerous."

"Well. I'm no stranger to danger." they say, on the edge of a laugh. "And whatever it is, you're worth knowing, Charlie. You're worth having in my life." 

"You don't  _ get it. _ If I stay, all this, your life here, it's going to be destroyed."

"Charlie, bad things happened to you, but they're over now. And if I have anything to do with it, they'll never happen again. I want to help you put it all behind you. Please try. For me."

Your shoulders slump. They're looking at you so earnestly, like this is the only thing they've ever wanted of you. "Okay."

They let out a breath, relaxing somewhat. "Thank you."

"I just… feel bad." you say, looking away. "Like I'm bothering you."

"You're never a bother." they assure you. "C'mon," They stand, and you look up at them in question. "Let's go to bed."

"What?"

"The bed's big enough for two." they explain. "I think we could both use it."

They hold out a hand, and, dazed, you take it and let them pull you up. By the hand, they lead you to their room, gently guiding you down into the bed. Once you're settled, they round the bed and get in themselves. You lie stiffly, legs straight and arms at your sides, as they shift around and get comfortable. 

"Relax," they murmur, sending a shiver through you. "It's just like old times, right? We're just lying next to each other, but we'll be sleeping."

"Y-yeah, okay," you say, and try to relax. It doesn't come easy, but you do slowly get there. Louise falls asleep easily, and their soft breaths next to you are calming. After some time, the sun long gone and the moon casting its gentle glow on the floor, you manage to drift off. 

  
  


  1. Fight



 

"Let's go out." Louise says across from you. You look up from your meal.

"What?"

"Let's go out! You haven't been out of the apartment in weeks, you could use some sun."

"I'm fine," you grumble, hunching in on yourself. 

"Look, I won't force you, but I think it'd be good for you. I'm going shopping today, and I'd like it if you came with. Just… think about it, okay?"

"Okay." you concede, not looking at them. 

"Thank you. I'm going to go get ready."

"Okay." you repeat. They get up and put their plate in the sink before leaving the room. You pick at your food, debating. The fact that you haven't been outside in weeks is on purpose; after Everything, people are just… too much. Louise is the only person you can stand anymore. But they're right, this isn't… healthy. You need to get out of the apartment, at least for a little while.

You do the dishes while you wait for Louise to finish changing, and you make an effort to look up and meet their gaze when they enter the kitchen. 

"I'll go." you say. "But… if it's too much, we come back home right away."

Louise smiles kindly and nods. "Of course."

You nod back, and go to throw on your hoodie while Louise gathers their keys and shopping list.

They take you to a little shopping street downtown, which turns out to be relatively empty for a Thursday afternoon, but the amount of people still bugs you. You'll deal with it for Louise, though; they look so excited to have you outside. 

You keep to yourself while they pick out their groceries, nodding politely when Louise introduces you to some of the more friendly shopkeepers. Hands tucked into your pockets and hood up, you stick close to Louise and try to more or less disappear in their shadow. 

Maybe it works too well, because you're just standing there, watching Louise pick out vegetables, when someone rams into you, making you stumble.

"Watch where you're going." the stranger snaps. 

"Wh- I was standing still, asshole!"

They stick a finger in your face and growl, "I don't care, you shouldn't have been in my way."

"You-!" Before you know it, you've pounced on them, knocking them to the ground and baring your teeth in their face. "See how you like getting knocked over!" The stranger struggles, but you hold them in place with a hand on their neck, brandishing your claws with the other. "Maybe this will teach you better." you say, reaching your claws towards his cheek.

"Charlie!" Louise's voice cuts through your hazed mind, and you snap back, seeing the fear in the stranger's eyes. 

"I-" you stammer, stumbling back. "I'm sorry, I-" The stranger scrambles away before you can continue, and you stare after them. Then you notice the crowd that's gathered, and you shrink into yourself.

"Come on," Louise says, hauling you up. "Let's go." They all but drag you away, and all you can do is stare at them.

They get you home, and the door slams shut behind you. You flinch, watching them move directly to the kitchen to put the groceries away. You hesitate by the front door, unsure what to do. Their movements in the kitchen are loud, cabinets slamming. Gulping, you creep forward to the kitchen doorway. They don't look at you, might not even know you're there. You chew on your lip for a minute or two, before asking,

"Are you mad at me?"

Louise stops, sighs. "No."

"... Disappointed?"

"No, I-" They rub a hand over their face, and when they look at you, they look so young, so lost. It breaks your heart. "I just don't know what to do, Charlie."

"I'm sorry." you say meekly. 

"I know. But I'm scared. I know you'd never hurt me, but I'm scared you'll hurt someone else, and that they'll try to take you away again."

Your skin crawls. "That wouldn't happen."

"It could. I'm sorry, Charlie, but it could. And I can't lose you again."

You curl your hands into fists, so tight your nails dig into your palms. "I can't go back." you say, voice trembling. "I can't be alone again."

"Charlie…" Louise comes over, wraps you up in a hug. You get the sense it's as much for them as it is for you, so you hug back, however weakly. "I'd do everything I could to stop them, but I'm scared it wouldn't be enough."

"I'm sorry." you repeat. "I'll… I'll try to be better. I'll get a job, I saw a floral place down the street, I'll help out around the apartment and we can get a better place together."

"Okay. Thank you." They squeeze you tightly, and you hug them back as best you can. 

  
  


  1. Sleeping Together



 

The two of you rent a house, albeit a tiny house, closer to the shopping district, and you do your best to keep up at your job and not have any more incidents. Of course, you have them anyway, but Louise explains your PTSD to the owners, and they're understanding, so long as you don't harm any of the customers and you help clean up once you've calmed down. 

You have your own garden now, so that's nice. Tending to flowers and arranging them is good. It's distracting. Calming. Not always enough, but usually. 

You get your own bedroom, finally, but you kind of miss sleeping next to Louise every night. Sometimes, when you wake up from a nightmare, you still sneak into Louise's room, and they wordlessly open the covers for you to crawl inside. Typically you keep to your own sides of the bed, but once or twice you've woken up in their arms, and, well, it wasn't so bad.

You're lying side by side one night, Louise reading and your thoughts wandering, when they snort. You glance at them, brows raised. 

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," they say, "just this scene. This guy and this girl are 'in love', and they suddenly started making out in this scene for no reason. It's so obviously shoved in there just for fan service."

"Huh." You look up at the ceiling, and your mind settles on a memory, almost six years ago, now, when you and Louise were in your bed, just like this, and they asked you if you wanted to be kissed.

Your face goes hot, and suddenly kissing Louise is all you can think of. You try to think of something,  _ anything _ else, but nothing will stop it, it's stuck in there. 

Louise is used to you being silent, but when you start fidgeting, they look over. "You okay?"

"Mhm." you reply quickly. "Yeah, fine."

They raise a brow, not believing you. "Uh-huh."

"Really." you insist. "I'm good."

"If you say so." They turn back to their book. 

"I just-" you blurt. They look at you again, and you want to hide under the covers. That would be childish, though, so you avoid their gaze instead. "Your book, it, um, reminded me of when we… you know…"

"Oh, when we kissed?" They say it so  _ easily. _

"Y-yeah."

"Yeah, that was fun." they say, a smile in their voice. 

"It was?" You peek over at them.

"Yeah. I liked kissing you, Charlie." 

You have to look away, your face on fire, and you  _ hear _ the smirk in their voice when they ask, "Why? Do you wanna kiss again?"

You're going to die. You're going to die, and Louise is going to be the cause. "N-no." you lie.

"Okay, if you're sure…"

"Wait!" You jolt upright, looking at them with panicked eyes. Yep, there's a smirk on their face. "Would that… be okay?"

"Yeah," they laugh. "It's more than okay, Charlie."

"Then… yeah. Can we?"

Louise sets their book aside and sits up more. "Sure. C'mere." 

You scootch closer, and Louise puts a hand on the back of your neck, drawing you in. Your lips meet, and that warm, tingly sensation spreads through you all over again. A soft sound escapes you as your eye closes and you lean into it. You can feel their laugh against your mouth. It's good. 

The two of you kiss for a while, pausing only to take in breaths, and you can feel the heat gathering, travelling lower, until you're having trouble ignoring the chub you're sporting. 

You pull back, breathing heavily, and Louise looks at you in confusion.

"You okay?" they ask.

"Yeah, no, just-" You swipe your hair away from your eye, say, "I just- need to go take care of something." You start to get up, to escape to the bathroom so you can either calm down or stroke one out, but Louise stops you with a hand on your wrist. You look at them, then follow their gaze down to where you're very obviously tenting your boxers.  "Um. I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay." they say, meeting your eyes. "I can help with that."

"... what." 

"I said," Louise says, brushing their hair out of their face and giving you a look that makes your ears burn, "I can help with that."

"Oh." you say dumbly.

"Is that okay?"

"Y-yeah. Okay."

They smile. "Good. Lie down."

You swallow and roll onto your back, letting them climb on top of you. Your heart is racing, and you're sure they can hear it. They just smile at you, though, running their hands over your sides - just your shirt separating skin and skin - and lean forward to kiss you reassuringly. 

"I'll take care of you." they say, and you shiver.

"Okay." you say. "I trust you."

They stroke your cheek, kissing you sweetly, then move down until they're settled above your hips. You can't help but hold your breath as they reach for the waistline of your boxers. 

"You okay?" they ask. 

"Y-yeah. Just. Nervous."

They pause. "Have you done this before?"

"N-no…"

"Oh." They blink. "We don't have to, if you'd rather wait…"

"No." you say quickly. "I-" You want it to be them. Someone - the only one - you trust. "I'd rather do this now."

"Okay." They nod. "I'll take special care of you." 

You bite your lip as they tug on your boxers, pulling them down your hips and exposing you. The cold air is a shock, and it makes you twitch. Louise chuckles, taking you in hand.

"You're kinda adorable, you know?" they say. You have to look away. 

"Wh-whatever."

"I'm serious, dude. It's nice." They stroke you carefully, bringing you to full hardness. 

"F-fuck," you curse, hands curling in the sheets. "Louise…"

"I know, I know. I've got you." They lean down and lap at the head, making you swear again, throwing your head back. "Good?"

_ "Good." _ you groan. They waste no time wrapping their mouth around you, and  _ christ, _ it's so- so warm and nice and you just- you never want it to end. "Louise, please," You're not even sure what you're asking for, but Louise seems willing to give it to you.

They drive you crazy with their mouth, bobbing their head and sucking gently until you're squirming with it, trying desperately not to buck into their mouth. They eventually hold your hips down with their hands, and goddamn, does that feel good. You grab at the pillow behind your head, panting, and can only watch as Louise slowly comes up, tongue dragging along your underside as they go. 

"Doing okay?" they ask, like they aren't killing you slowly with this.

"Y-yeah."

"Okay for me to keep going?"

You nod, and they get back to it, wrapping their mouth around the head and stroking the rest with their hand. 

"A-ah, Louise…!" Your back arches and you're so, so close, and you need - "Kiss me. Please."

Without hesitation, they lurch up to capture your mouth in a kiss. You keen, grabbing at them, and buck into their hand. 

"Come on, Charlie," they whisper into your mouth. "Come on."

You come with a cry that's stifled against their mouth, clinging to them as you go stiff with pleasure. 

"It's okay," they murmur, easing you down. "It's okay."

Your breaths come heavy for a while, and Louise pecks you on the cheek before getting up and going into the bathroom. You're lonely for all of five seconds before you hear the tap running, and they soon return with a wet cloth to clean you up with. Your shirt will need to go into the wash, but you're pretty hard-pressed to care right now. 

"Do you, um…" You gesture vaguely, and they laugh. God, you love their laugh.

"I'm good, thanks." they say, plopping down next to you. 

"Are you sure? I can…" Again, you make a gesture that you're not entirely sure what it's supposed to mean, but Louise seems to get it. 

"I'm fine, really." they insist. "Just sleep, you look like you could use it." They have a point. Your limbs are like jelly now, and all you want to do is curl up and sleep.

"Alright." you say. "But I'm gonna return the favor some time."

Louise just smiles. "Sounds good, Charlie. Goodnight."

"Night, Louise."

  
  


+1. "I love you"

 

You wake up to an empty bed. Your heart stops for a second before you hear clattering in the kitchen. Breathing a sigh of relief, you sit up and stretch. Your shirt is a bit… well… so you peel it off you and toss it in your room on the way to the kitchen. You consider putting something else on, but it's just you and Louise, so who cares?

In the kitchen, Louise has something cooking on the stove. It smells like bacon and eggs, and to their left, the toaster is on. 

"Smells good." you mumble, wiping sleep dust out of your eye as you come up behind them. 

"It better." they laugh, smiling over at you as you rest your chin on their shoulder. "Go sit, it'll be ready soon."

"Mm, okay. Love you." You groggily wander over to the table, scooching out the chair and flopping down. It's only once you smell something starting to char that you notice Louise is sort of… frozen. "Louise?"

"Huh?" They seem to snap out of it, and notice the burning toast. "Oh, shit!" They pop the toaster, picking out the toast with their nails to avoid getting burned. "Sorry."

"'S'okay." you say. "You… alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." They rub at the back of their head, not looking at you. "Just fine." 

"Okay." You're unconvinced, but you let it go. 

Louise pokes at the eggs, flips the bacon, murmurs, "Love you, too."

Huh? Oh. 

_ Oh. _

Well.

That is… something you didn't realize you'd said. But you said it. Out loud. To Louise. 

You bury your face in your hands. You love Louise. Louise loves you. You're not… sure what that means. You're not sure it matters what it means. Maybe it's okay to not know, at least for now.

Louise puts a hand on your shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah." you decide, lifting your head up. "Yeah, I'm good." Louise smiles. 

"Good. Good morning, Charlie." 


End file.
